When I think about stopping I want to smoke more

[Nitafaye]

When I think about stopping I want to smoke more what can I do about it 

[indingrl]

Welcome and SUGGESTION to ME years ago was to educate MYSELF on MY NICOTINE ADDICTION only- NOT anyone else - start reading all info here and gobto whyquit.com to watch videos on EARLY deaths from smoking and to read the FREE book titled - Never Take Another Puff Ever by Joel - who has been working with NICOTINE ADDICTS for over 40 YEARS - please take what HELPS and let go of the rest - to be HELPFUL is MY only aim- thank you- blog BEFORE you take that first puff over you- gentle hug.

[Barbscloud]

I hadn't seen anyone reference this book before.  I was just reading some of it.  It's good.  Thanks.

[sweetplt]

Hi and Welcome to Ex’s

Congratulations to coming here and thinking about quitting smoking.  Please go read at My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX and gain knowledge on the quit journey.  There you will make a quit date and learn how to prepare for that day like no other...On that quit date...you will not smoke...NMW (no matter what)...you say you smoke more when you think about quitting... here you will quit that day...Become a quitter...it is doable...~ answer to your question...it is mind over matter...you can just tell yourself “no”...one day you will quit whether you want to or not...let it be choice...~ Colleen 156 DOF 

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

II had not found this site before I quit, and I chain smoked leading up to my chosen quit date.  It would have been much easier for me if I had gotten the information I will provide for you.  It is important that you educate yourself about nicotine addiction.  When you understand how the drug works, you will also come to understand that all you think it does for you is a fallacy.  Read on to understand more about it!

The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion,  3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
 

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!

 Nancy

[Barbara145]

I chained smoke so badly the night before I quit that I woke up in a cold sweat and had to cling to the wall to walk downstairs to the kitchen.  I did not find this site until a week after I had quit.  You are not alone.  We are all nicotine addicts.  The answer to your question is, "You stop smoking."  You can do this.  We are here to help.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Thinking of what you're going to be missing?

So what have you done to prepare?

I have a no stress way to prepare that will set you up perfectly to quit with no stress and no denial and no counting how many you can have a day before you quit.

You don't even have to set a date.

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/message/70402-where-does-it-come-from

[Alicatsam]

To me, what you're talking about is just one of many triggers. One of many obstacles that do not mean you can't quit if you want to.

I have thought about quitting many times over the past 25 years. Sometimes a passing thought, sometimes more serious. I found that the more seriously I thought about it, the more I needed a cigarette.

Also true whenever other people talked to me about quitting, reasons to quit, how ugly my lungs must look, etc... Any mention from anyone of how it's bad for me or make me and my things stink, made me need a cigarette. Even anti-smoking commercials and ads.

The reason I finally took action despite this huge craving spike at the very thought is because I have another living being that I am responsible for, my young dog. Two or three weeks ago, a fellow dog owner mentioned how bad it is for him. Having done my own research, I know dogs have additional exposure from licking things soaked in cigarette poisons; my skin, clothes, furniture... So I knew I had to quit for his health.

So craving spikes, or triggers, or whatever you call them, come in many forms. Thinking about quitting is a trigger for me. That does not mean I can't overcome it. Same for all things that cause stress - and in my case any really good news that makes me want to celebrate with a smoke.

[anaussiemom]

That to me is not unusual. I have done the same.  Anxiety and fear perhaps... Giving it up is scary.  One moment at a time

Blessings
Kim

[crazymama_Lori]

it's been our security blanket and all that we had to cope with the world as we see it.  It was our best friend.  it woke up with us every morning, went to bed with us every night.  Consoled us in bad times and celebrated with us during the good times.  When I was in my preparation mode, I asked around to all the nonsmokers I knew and asked them how they dealt with life's stressors and started to create some of my own.  I've been quit now for over 3 years and I'll be honest, when life throws me a curve ball, I think of smoking, but it's only because that's all I knew for 43 years for coping with life.  I taught myself that smoking was the end all be all for anything and everything, and you know what, it's not.  the sun comes up and goes down without it.  Life can be rotten, but smoking won't make it any better or worse.  Now is the time to retrain your brain.  Go through the steps in the beginning, https://www.becomeanex.org/track-your-cigarettes/  understand when and why you smoke and devise a plan to beat those triggers and replace your habits.  A prepared quitter is a successful quitter.  Know your foe, https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/message/106882-are-you-fighting-your-foe-or-justifying-yourself